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Roger Stone, leader of Rotherham Council who has stepped down with "immediate effect" after accepting responsibility on behalf of the council for failings detailed in a report which found around 1,400 children were sexually exploited in the town over a 16-year period

SHOCK AS TOWN SEX ABUSE REVEALED

Britain's approach to tackling child abuse is under fresh scrutiny after a shocking report found 1,400 youngsters in a town suffered sexual exploitation in a 16-year period.

Rotherham Council leader Roger Stone resigned yesterday following the publication of a shocking report which detailed gang rapes, grooming, trafficking and other sexual exploitation on a wide scale in the South Yorkshire town.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The failings of local agencies exposed by this inquiry are appalling."

DOWNSIZED NATO 'CAN'T FIGHT RUSSIA'

Western Europe would not be able to defend itself against Russian intervention because of the progressive dismantling of military capability, one of Britain's most senior generals has warned.

General Sir Richard Shirreff, who stepped down from his post as Nato deputy supreme commander earlier this year, also insisted nothing should be ruled out in the fight against Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria.

In a wide-ranging interview with BBC's Newsnight, he called on Nato to rearm if it was serious about defending itself in the future.

EBOLA BRITON GETS EXPERIMENTAL DRUG

Doctors will continue to monitor the effects of an experimental drug on Britain's first confirmed Ebola patient, with the next few days described as "crucial".

Doctors caring for William Pooley at the Royal Free Hospital in north London said he had been given ZMapp, which has been dubbed by some as the "cure" after two aid US workers were successfully treated for Ebola after taking it

Describing him as a "resilient and remarkable young man", medics said he was sitting up, reading and chatting to staff.

KATE HITS SPOT - BUT NOT HEIGHTS

Kate Bush has made a sensational return to the concert stage - 35 years after her last, and only, tour.

At 56, she may no longer be able to hit the high notes of her teenage years and she might have cut back on the dancing, but she still has the trademark long dark hair, and she still knows how to put on a show.

Bush was kicking off her Before The Dawn "tour" - 22 shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in west London, the venue where she effectively retired from live performances after six weeks on the road in 1979.

CASH DIVERTED TO FUND SCHOOL PLACES

Councils have been forced to cut back on school repairs, building projects and to borrow money to plug a £1 billion black hole in funding for school places, it has been claimed.

More than three quarters of authorities in England say they have not received enough money from the Government to create the extra school places needed in their area in a five-year period to 2016/17, according to a poll by the Local Government Association (LGA).

It warned that local councils are facing a challenge in creating places on time and in the right areas at a time when they are also short of cash to do so.

DARLING AND BROWN REUNITE TO SAY NO

Alistair Darling will be reunited with former prime minister Gordon Brown today as the two men join forces to campaign to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom.

Mr Darling, leader of the pro-UK Better Together campaign, served as chancellor when Mr Brown was in charge at 10 Downing Street.

With ballots already being sent out to the hundreds of thousands of Scots who have asked to vote by post in the September 18 referendum, the two will speak out at a special rally aimed at this section of the electorate.

COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS CLERK FURORE

An influential committee of MPs will meet next week to discuss whether to call in the Speaker's recommended candidate for the post of Commons clerk to answer questions.

Bernard Jenkin, chairman of the public administration select committee, has confirmed a meeting will be held on Monday at which members will decide whether to hold a pre-appointment hearing.

The Tory MP for Harwich and North Essex said: "The committee has decided nothing formally until we meet.

GREEN DEAL ADVERT 'MISLEADING'

An advert for the Government's Green Deal misled householders by implying that energy savings were guaranteed under the scheme, the advertising watchdog has ruled.

The television ad and an advertorial in the national press also failed to make it clear that consumers could be charged an assessment fee, and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that average property prices increased by 14% - and 38% in some areas - under the initiative, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said.

The TV ad featured presenter Oliver Heath knocking on a man's door and looking around his house while a voice-over said: "We'd all like to keep our homes warm and save money on energy bills this winter, but how can you find out if your insulation is thick enough to keep the heat in, or whether a new boiler could save you hundreds of pounds a year?"

ASSESSMENTS FOR OVERSEAS NURSES

Nurses and midwives who completed their training outside Europe are to face new assessments of their eligibility to work in the UK, it was announced today.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said the new registration system, to be introduced this autumn, will ensure that the hundreds of nurses and midwives who trained overseas and wish to practise in the UK are assessed in a robust and objective way, in order to protect the public.

Nearly 5,000 people who trained outside the European Economic Area have registered with the NMC over the last five years. The majority of nurses and midwives who trained overseas come from India, the Philippines or Australia.

CIVIL PARTNERSHIP CONVERSION PLEA

A couple campaigning for a change to the rules governing the conversion of civil partnerships into full marriages are presenting a petition to the minister responsible for equal marriage today.

Jakki and Sheila Livesey-van Dorst will present the 38,000-strong petition to Nick Boles today in the hope it will help influence changes to the regulations that apply to those wishing to convert their civil partnerships into marriages.

After laws enabling same-sex marriage in England and Wales were passed last year, couples are to be allowed to convert their partnership into a marriage from December this year.

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